Michael Fey was becoming the forgotten man.
After having a career night in UCLA’s season-opening win,
Fey, a sophomore center, took just one shot in the first half
against UC Riverside on Wednesday, and it came with a little over
two minutes remaining.
Then, in the locker room, coach Ben Howland stepped in.
“Coach said at halftime, “˜We need to get the ball
inside,'” said Fey, who had career highs of 20 points
and eight rebounds against Vermont on Saturday.
Fey, who typically starts slowly, finished with 10 points,
scoring eight of UCLA’s first 14 points coming out of
halftime to spark the Bruins to a 84-70 win over Riverside.
“We forget sometimes that Mike is out there,” junior
point guard Cedric Bozeman said. “He sets the tone for us
inside, so we have to make a more conscious effort to get him the
ball.”
Howland later said getting the ball to the seven-footer was one
of the keys for UCLA’s strong second half. His inside
presence opened up the outside for junior guard Brian Morrison, who
had career night of his own, scoring 28 points and shooting 6-for-8
from three-point range.
“They had to start paying more attention in the post, and
that got our guys open shots,” Fey said.
Fey credited Riverside with denying him any easy touches in the
first half, but at least one Highlander came away impressed in the
end.
“(Fey’s) posting up a little harder and he’s a
little stronger,” said Riverside forward Vili Morton, who
matched up against Fey in a recent summer league game. “I
think he’s gotten in the weight room since the
summer.”
Morton scored a team-high 22 points in this latest round, but
Fey, feeling more comfortable playing alongside sophomore power
forward Ryan Hollins, did have a good game defensively. He equaled
his career high of three blocks, with two of those coming on a
Riverside possession with just three minutes left in the game.
Howland said earlier in the week that Fey needs to avoid picking
up unnecessary fouls, and Fey did just that against Riverside,
going nearly 35 minutes between his two fouls on the night.
That allowed Fey to play a career-high 33 minutes, which is what
Howland will expect out of his starters in the coming weeks. With
the Bruins operating with a paper-thin roster due to injured and
ineligible players, Fey is going to have to get used to nights like
these.